SMART ENFORCEMENT: APPLYING AI, IOT, AND SATELLITE ANALYTICS TO COMBAT INDUSTRIAL AIR POLLUTION IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The growing problem of industrial air pollution is one of the most acute environmental and social health problems of developing countries, and Pakistan is one of the most suffering countries in the world. This is an extensive review of the transformative capacity of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing environmental law enforcement and counteracting dangerous gas emissions caused by industrial sources with specific reference to the specific socio-economic and regulatory environment in Pakistan. The review summarizes the current developments in the field of machine learning, deep learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and satellite-based monitoring technologies that have shown impressive efficiency in air quality prediction, identification of emission sources, and monitoring regulatory compliance. Through the global case analysis and unique challenges of Pakistan, the current article gives the framework to incorporate AI technologies in the environmental governance structure of the country. The results suggest that AI-powered monitoring tools can have an over 95 percent prediction accuracy of air quality indices, provide real-time compliance monitoring, and draw down monitoring expenses by up to 80 percent with the traditional approaches. The paper concludes with policy recommendations and a roadmap to implement this policy in stages of a timeline specific to the industrial landscape in Pakistan, which should focus on the importance of the public-private collaboration, capacity building, and changing the rules and regulations to achieve the maximum potential of AI to protect the environment.